Resurrection II - The Boy Who Fell From The Sky
by Annejackdanny
Summary: Continues from Resurrection Part I - The Ties That Bind. See summary there. kidfic, h/c, Jack/Daniel, AU, adventure
1. Chapter 1

**Part II**

**The Boy who Fell from the Sky**

_**I'm**__ a small part of the whole me. And the rest of me is still in the sky._

**I**

Jack was back at the monolith with Mohawk guy. But Mohawk was standing in a field of white-stalked plants with pink blossoms, wearing a funny green hat – Jack knew it was called a boonie for some weird reason – and he was jumping around in a circle, flailing his arms, yelling, "See! See! See! I knew you made it all up! You're a liar liar liar!" Jack wanted to shut him up, but something kept pulling and jerking at the back of his shirt and he couldn't get a word out. Someone kept calling his name...

..."Jack! Jack! Wake up!"

Groaning, he tried to shake off the hand tugging at his shirt, but it was persistent and finally he was awake enough to crack his eyes open and ground out a hoarse. "Go. Away."

"No, no, you have to wake up and see!"

Mikele gave his shoulder another firm shake. Instantly awake now, but unwilling to give in to the youngster's demands just yet, Jack rolled on his back and slapped both hands over his face. "Oh, for... What? Where's the fire?"

"No fire. Come on! Wake up!"

Jack sat up and blinked. There was no sunlight coming in through the curtain of ivy that served as his front door. "It's still dark."

"I know. Sun hasn't come up yet. But it's dawning."

"Mikele..."

The boy sat back on his heels and picked up the small, old kerosene lamp he'd brought with him. "Come!"

Suddenly realizing this might be an emergency, Jack seized the boy's arm. "What? Anyone hurt? You and the twins all right?"

"We're fine. We slept in one of the tunnels by the arena. Mama has a man in her bed tonight."

"Yeah? This better be good then, buddy," Jack grumbled as he followed the kid out of his bed chamber. He stood and stretched, watching the first small silver lining at the horizon of the distant ocean.

Mikele grabbed his wrist. "Come!"

A memory rose in his sleep-fogged mind. Thor had run off last night when the star had fallen.

"Didya see Thor?" Jack asked as he let the boy lead him over the grassy ground towards the arena. He hoped the mule hadn't hurt himself in his wild dash to escape the lightning.

"No, Thor is not here."

"What..."

"You must see for yourself." Mikele said impatiently.

They entered the theater through a narrow passageway and Jack could make out several small shadows in the middle of the arena.

"I told Mania and Ranja to watch him," Mikele said. Ranja was Mania's twin brother, though he hadn't inherited the red hair and freckles of his dada. He was black-haired and dark-eyed like their mother.

"Watch... whom?" Jack asked. Then they had reached the group and Mikele held his lamp so that Jack could see the small figure lying on the ground.

Mania, who had been crouched close to it, jumped up and came over to hug Jack's leg. "He'th falled fwom the thky!"

Ranja had kept his distance to the sleeping kid. He nodded solemnly. "He fell from the sky in a bright light." He was holding a small stick. Now he reached out and gently poked the child's back with it.

"Hey, hey, stop that." Jack absently swung Mania up and settled her on his hip. He pulled Ranja away with his free hand. "Where'd he come from?"

"He fell from the sky," Ranja insisted.

"Thewe wath a bwight light and he wath hewe whenth we came to look."

Jack sighed and looked at Mikele for a less fairy tale answer. But the older boy just shrugged. "That's what we saw. Mania had a nightmare and we all woke up from it. I had to pee and left the tunnel. There was this light." He pointed heavenwards. "Up there. I called the twins to come and see and the light was... well, it fell down like rain. Ranja wanted to take a look and that's where we found it... him."

"Like fiweflyth, pwetty, thoooo pwetty," Mania sighed. Then she said something strange. "You hathta look at ith belly, Jack."

Ranja nodded. "We didn't dare. Mikele says we're stupid, but we still have to make sure."

"To make sure of what?" Jack put Mania down and stepped closer to what appeared to be a small boy going by the short, wispy, fair hair.

"They think he is a reborn Sinner," Mikele said with a small snort.

"He'th falled fwom the thky! The godth might have thent him back with a thnake in hith belly!" Mania said in a stage whisper. "But he'th tho pwetty. I thought all thinnewth wewe ugly," she added after a pause.

"There's no such thing as the Army of Sinners. Tell them, Jack," Mikele muttered.

"But he fell from the sky," Ranja said in defense of his sister.

"Wight down fwom up thewe!" Mania nodded fiercely. "And he'th vewy nekkid."

Jack crouched and put a gentle hand on a curved shoulder. The little one was tightly curled up like a ball. It was a warm night and the skin didn't feel cold to the touch. There was no telling for how long the kid had been here.

"Hey," he murmured, jiggling the boy slightly. "C'mon, sleepy head. Rise and shine."

"Ith he death?" Mania whispered loudly from somewhere behind Jack. "Mabe the godth did thomething wong when they thwew him down fwom the thky? Mabe he'th huwt himthelf fwom the fall."

"No, he's just sleeping," Jack said. His finger slid around the neck and found a strong pulse. He squeezed the shoulder again and this time the small body stirred and uncurled. A tiny hand latched onto Jack's, fingers wrapping around two of his own with surprising strength.

"O-kay, what do we have here?" He used his free hand to roll the kid on his back and was presented with the evidence that he'd been right. A boy. And there was no opening in his pot belly. "No snakes," Jack assured Mania.

"Ohhh," came the relieved reply from the little girl.

"But... he fell from the sky," Ranja insisted darkly. "He has to be sent by the gods. If he's not a Sinner, what is he?"

Jack shook his head. Kids and their vivid imaginations. He wriggled his fingers until they were released from the tight grip they'd been captured in. He rose to his feet, scooping the still sleeping boy up in the process. The head came to rest against his shoulder and a thumb wandered into the kid's mouth.

And what the heck was he supposed to do now?

Whoever had dropped the poor fella out here in the middle of the night probably wanted to get rid of him. Jack had never heard of kids actually being abandoned by their parents. Even the poorest families, and even the ones who didn't necessarily overly care about their offspring one way or another, wouldn't just leave their kids out here like that. No clothes, no letter, not even a blanket.

But who knew? There was a first time for everything.

"You have no idea who he is? Maybe he came out here with an older sib and wandered off?" Older kids often dragged their small sisters and brothers along. To teach them how to beg, how to steal or how to collect shells and stones to sell at the beaches. And to keep them out of their parents' hair.

Mikele shook his head. "Never seen him before."

And Mania repeated. "He'th falled fwom the thky, Jack. I told you."

"He fell from the sky," Jack automatically corrected, then rolled his eyes. "And no, he didn't fall from the sky. Kids don't fall from the sky just like that."

"But he did. We saw," Ranja said, a stubborn frown on his face.

"You saw the lightning. The kid was probably already here before." Why he was trying to reason with a five year old Jack didn't know. He cleared his throat and eyed his small burden wearily. "All right, here's what we do. We'll look for Thor and then take our new friend here into town to see if we can find his parents or someone who knows him."

Mikele nodded. Ranja tugged at Jack's shirt sleeve. "Breakfast?"

Grimacing at the thought of having to share his food stock with four hungry mouths, Jack nodded anyway. "Sure, why not. Mikele, get the bridle from my place and see if you can find the mule. He shouldn't be too far. He likes the grass around here."

Mikele ran off, whistling on his fingers.

Mania bounced ahead, carrying the lamp and dragging Ranja with her.

Jack watched them for a moment, silently saying goodbye to the loaf of bread and the cheese he had stored away. When he looked down and jiggled sleeping beauty a bit to make sure he was securely settled, he found a pair of big, curious eyes gazing back at him.

He smiled. "Hey, there."

The child tentatively smiled back at him around his thumb.

"Do you have a name?"

He watched as the question was considered and a small frown creased the kid's brow. Then the thumb was pulled out with a low plop. "I fell from the sky."

Jack raised his eyebrows. "Yeah, I heard about that."

"Isn't that funny?" The kid let out a small chuckle, like a wind chime.

"Sure. Little people falling from the sky – it's a hoot." Jack couldn't help it. He had to laugh. "Do little people who fall from skies eat?"

"I don't know. Do they?"

"You tell me."

"I'm not sure."

"What?"

"Do I eat?"

Jack sighed. He doubted he'd ever had a more strange conversation before. Not even with Mania. And she was the queen of strange conversations sometimes.

They had left the theater and strolled over to Jack's place.

"Well, maybe you just give it a go and see if you like it," Jack suggested.

The kid didn't look underweight. In the growing daylight Jack had a much better look at him. Unlike most kids he knew, this one was fair-skinned and tow-headed. There were all kind of people living in Ba'th. Blondes, brown or black-haired, red heads with all kind of skin colors from alabaster, olive to milk coffee and ebony. But this one seemed almost lily white. And there wasn't a speck of dirt on him, which was strange. All kids Jack knew around here were usually covered in layers of dust or dirt from being outdoors all the time. Hadis' wife always complained that giving them baths seemed to be wasted time because they attracted dirt like flypaper attracted flies.

When they had reached Jack's place, he put the tyke down. The twins were playing catch, but when they spotted Jack they stopped and edged closer to take a good look at the new kid of the block.

"He's awake," Ranja said as if that was a total mystery to him.

Mania elbowed him. "Of couwthe he'th awake. He can't thleep all the time."

"Are you a Sinner?" Ranja asked, ignoring his sister.

The new boy looked up at Jack with questioning eyes. Big blue eyes as Jack now noticed. "Am I?"

"No, of course not. Ranja, go inside. There's a blanket and a bundle of clothes. Bring both out here. There's also bread and cheese for breakfast. Your sister can help with that."

The twins hurried to comply and Jack crouched in front of the boy. "So, you got a name? I can't just call you star child."

"But I _am_ a star child," he replied with great sincerity. "I come from the stars."

Yep. Vivid imagination here. "Right. What do your mama and dada call you?" An unsure shrug was the only answer Jack got. "Anyone you live with... what do they call you?"

"Danny?" It was a question more than an answer, but it was good enough. For now.

Jack held out his hand. "Hey, Danny. Nice to meet ya. I'm Jack."

Another giggle bubbled out of the kid. "I know you're Jack."

_Oh?_ "You do?"

"Yes, of course. Who else would you be?"

"Right. Who else would I be," he echoed, trying to figure out how the kid could possibly know him. But then this was good. Maybe Danny recognized him from somewhere and that meant there was a good chance Jack would find his folks at one of the places he worked or hung out during the day.

"It's nice to meet you, too." Danny put his hand into Jack's.

The world ground to a halt as they shook hands and Jack felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise as...

...the air around him shifted and, in the back of his mind, there was a swooshing sound like water pouring out of a giant...

...He felt a gentle tug when Danny pulled his hand away from his and the spell was broken. Jack blinked at the blue orbs gazing steadily back at him. He opened his mouth to say something, anything.

Mania's loud announcement that 'bweakfath ith weady' and Mikele's yell from somewhere that he'd found Thor brought Jack back to his senses. He stood and picked through the bundle of clothes Ranja had dragged out. He selected a clean, blue t-shirt and held it out to Danny.

"What do you think?"

Danny laughed. "It's BIG."

"Well, yeah. You'll grow into it eventually," Jack said with a grin. "C'mere." He pulled the shirt over the boy's head and Danny held up his arms to slip into it. Jack let it fall down and took a step back.

Mania burst out laughing. Danny looked down at himself and burst out laughing, too.

Jack pulled up his shoulders. ""What? Covers you neck to toe."

"Ith lookth like a dweth!" Mania giggled.

Danny did a couple of steps, the hem of the shirt pooling around his feet on the ground. He looked down at himself this way and that, then grabbed the shirt with both hands and held it up and out of the way. "I like it. How long will it take me to grow into it?"

"Years and years and years," Ranja said.

"How long is that?" Danny turned to look at Jack.

Jack sighed. "Too long to let you run around like this. You'll get tangled in it and hurt yourself. I'll think of something. Why don't we all sit on the blanket and have a bite to eat for now?"

Mikele tied Thor to a tree nearby and came over. He took one look at Danny in his blue gown and grinned. "Pretty. You need a belt or something."

Mania and Ranja had spread the blanket out on the grass and put the bread and cheese in the middle. The kids settled around it.

Jack went into his abode and pulled a knife from between two stones of the caved-in wall. He wiped the blade on his pants to get the fine dust off before he joined the kids and started to slice the dark wholemeal bread and the rich yellow cheese generously. Mikele and the twins dug in with gusto, but Danny just held the food Jack handed him for a moment and examined it. Finally, he raised it to his face and sniffed it like a puppy. Then he took a very tentative bite and chewed thoughtfully.

"Ohhh," he exclaimed. A small pink tongue came out to lick his lips and then he took another bite and another. Watching the bread and cheese wander into Danny with light speed, Jack quickly cut more and handed it over.

"Did you neva have bwead and cheethe?" Mania asked.

Mouth too full to talk, Danny shook his head and raised the bread to his lips. Jack placed a hand on the kid's arm. "Slow down, grasshopper. Chew and swallow or you gonna choke on it."

Danny nodded, chewed, swallowed and continued eating like he hadn't had a meal in years. Yet, while he was wolfing it down he seemed to savor every bite. He closed his eyes for a moment and made little 'mmmh' noise and Jack couldn't stop looking at him while passing out more food to the other kids as well.

And when he broke his own bread into pieces and had a chunk of cheese with it Jack thought with mild wonder how great it was. The bread was from the bakery's evening sale two days ago, but it was still good and the cheese had been stored here a couple of days. It was just ordinary food on an ordinary morning, but he was suddenly pretty sure he'd never had a better meal in his life.

Once they were done eating, the bread had shrunk to a mere heel and the cheese was mostly gone as well. Jack had given Danny's lack of clothes some thought and asked Mania if he could borrow the bright yellow shawl she wore as a headband to tame her mop of curly red hair today.

"Buuuut," she sniffled, putting both hands on top of her head to make sure Jack didn't pull the shawl off without permission. "I juth found it on the beach yethewday. It'th my pwinceth cwown."

"And you'll get it back. I just want to have it for a little while. As a belt for Danny so he won't trip over his shirt and fall on his... nose."

She eyed him for a moment. "Juth a tiny little while? And only 'cuth ith for Pwinthe Danny. He'th the thtaw pwinthe, you know?"

"Ah, of course," Jack said. "The star prince."

"Maybe if you give her a coin she'll sell it to you." Mikele was always the business man. "And remember, I caught that stubborn mule for you."

Jack snorted. "Remember I just fed you my weekly stock of bread and cheese?"

Mania pulled the shawl from her head and gave it to Jack. "Thome lady fowgotted it at the beach. It'th pwetty, innit?"

"Forgot, not forgotted," Jack said, not sure why he kept correcting her. It was a lost cause. He bowed his head. "Thank you, princess Mania of Ba'th. I'll make sure you have it back by tonight."

It shouldn't take more than a couple of hours to find the boy's folks, right? How hard could it be. If they lost him they'd be searching for him, too. And he was a pretty unique looking little fella.

_And how do you 'lose' a kid out here just like that in the middle of the night?_ But he opted not to listen to that niggling voice right now.

Mania giggled. "You muth take goodeth cawe of it tho it won't get loth."

"Oh, I will take good care of it. And I'm sure our new friend here..." He turned around to look for Danny, but the boy had toddled off in his oversized t-shirt to examine the clover Thor was munching for breakfast.

Meaning; the tyke was sitting in the grass right beside Thor, in very close proximity of the mule's head and legs. And Thor was absently stomping his hooves to ward off flies. Danny laughed and pulled out wads of clover with both hands. He offered some to Thor who ignored him.

If the mule sidestepped just once...

Jack didn't take the time to assess the situation or panic. He moved fast, but without haste. And just as he had reached them, Danny sniffed at his handful of squashed clover leaves, shrugged and stuffed them into his mouth.

"Hey, buddy," Jack addressed him quietly. With one swift movement he bent, grabbed Danny under both arms and swooped him up and out of harm's way. Thor just continued grazing.

Danny spit his mouthful of clover out and wiped his mouth. "That's not good."

"So you probably shouldn't eat what he does, eh?" Jack felt a trickle of sweat run down his spine. No small hands or feet squashed under heavy hooves. There was that saying about gods protecting drunks and kids. Or was that fools and babies? He turned away from Thor and almost stumbled over Mania, who had followed him.

"You haveta eat the blothomth," She quickly picked one of the white blooms and held them up to Danny who took it and turned it in his hand. He gave Jack a questioning look.

"You can eat them," he confirmed absently and motioned for Mania to join her siblings.

"Sweet," Danny said.

"What?" Jack untied Thor one handed.

"The flowers are sweet. Can I have more?"

"That's clover and we really have to get going now. Hey! Stop wriggling!" He tightened his hold on the boy as he tugged at Thor's bridle to get him to move. In order to distract Danny from getting to his new favorite food and ending up under hoof, he asked. "Would you like to ride Thor?"

The wriggling stopped at once. "Thor? The Asgard?"

"The what?"

"The Asgard. Thor." Danny frowned. "That's not what you meant." Then his face lit up. "The horsie's name is Thor!"

"It's a mule, technically, but, yeah. That's him."

"He's very nice. I'd like to ride him."

"Great. I'll show you how."

"It's like riding camels, I guess. It's easy." Danny reached out and patted Thor's big nose.

"Camels, eh? There are no camels on..." Jack stopped short. Camels? He had a weird image of a big brown animal with two lumps on its back, a swaying neck and long legs. He'd never seen anything like it, yet he knew what the kid was talking about.

"There are camels in Egypt," Danny informed him. "They are big."

"Egypt," Jack muttered. Where the heck was Egypt? "Never been there." He'd probably seen a camel in a book. Or on a postcard. Or... somewhere.

When they reached Mikele and his siblings, Jack put Danny down and told him to stay away from Thor's legs. Then he grabbed the blanket and threw it over the mule's back. It was time to find the star child's folks. Jack had work to do. He had to go to the beach and earn some money. He didn't have time to babysit all day.

Jack handed Thor's reins to Mikele and picked up Mania's yellow shawl. He tied it around Danny's waist, then tugged at the upper part of the t-shirt until it hung over the makeshift belt. Now the hem came down to the kid's ankles instead of pooling around his feet. The shirt's collar kept slipping down one small shoulder, but that wasn't too much of an issue.

That done, Jack went into his shelter to get the mule bags. He had one pair at the barn, one out here. These were simple woven linen bags with ropes that went over Thor's back and several loops to tie things to. Jack used them to carry his pottery and trinkets to the beaches or move his stuff around. The bags he kept at the barn had leather straps because they had to carry the heavy clay buckets.

Once he'd attached the bags, he placed Danny on Thor's back, telling him to hold tightly onto the mane. Then he settled Mania behind him and she put both arms around Danny to keep him in place. Ranja was put behind his sister and Jack took the reins. "If anyone starts slipping, let me know. And behave up there. No fighting and no fidgeting or you're going to walk back to town."

"I ith the pwintheth. I will keep the boyth in line," Mania said gracefully. "You may take uth to town thafely, thquiwe Jack."

Ranja and Danny giggled.

"Your wish is my command, your majesty," Jack said straight-faced.

Mikele rolled his eyes and, as they crossed the plateau, mumbled, "You shouldn't play along with her games. Mama says her head is too far in the clouds already. She's always daydreaming."

"She's five," Jack said quietly. "Give her some slack."

"She believes a prince will come to marry her one day. Now she thinks this sky child is her prince," Mikele hissed.

"It's kinda cute."

"It's just making her believe in fairy tales even more."

"You like playing ball, she likes fairy tales."

"That's different. She believes they are true. She will get hurt if she keeps believing that. Mama says so, too." Mikele cast Jack an angry glare and pressed his lips together into a thin, hard line.

Jack glanced back over his shoulder to make sure the kids were still all accounted for. They were chattering among themselves, or rather Mania chattered to the boys about Thor being her royal horse. Ranja just laughed at her and Danny said Thor was really a beautiful royal horse.

To the boy walking next to him, Jack said, "Let her believe it for a while. She'll grow out of it soon enough."

"I wish she didn't have to, though," Mikele whispered after a long moment of silence.

"I know."

The main road was already busy with people on their way in and out of Ba'th. The three younger kids were delighted to have a grand view over everything from Thor's back.

Mania waved graciously at everyone they passed, still playing princess of Ba'th, and Ranja kept chuckling at his sister's antics.

When Jack checked on them again, Danny's head was almost swiveling on his neck as he was trying to look at everything at once. His eyes grew even bigger when they reached the first houses with the yard shops and all their goods on display. Apparently breakfast and sorting out the cloth issue had taken longer than Jack thought. Most of the yard shops were already set up.

"Jack, can we stop and look at those carpets? Or the shawls? Can we look at the pretty stones and bracelets?"

"Nope. We have to find your family, remember? Don't you want to be back with them?"

"I'm with you. And the others aren't here. Can we please stop? Look, look, there's a man selling fruit! I forgot how it's called..."

"They're making juice from it. Orange juice," Ranja explained.

"Thquiwe Jack, pleathe thtop and buy Pwinthe Danny thome owange juithe," Her Royal Highness ordered.

Danny giggled.

Jack squinted up at the boy. "The others? Who are the others?"

"Sam and Teal'c. They are not here."

There. He had names. Sadly, those names didn't ring a bell with him. "Are Sam and Teal'c your parents?"

"Oh, look! Jack, look! I remember those... apples! Apples and oranges! I remember having those before!"

"Before what?" Jack asked, confused.

"Before," Danny repeated, offering no further explanation.

They stopped in front of an old man sitting behind a folding table. Stacked next to him were boxes of oranges and a hand drawn sign said '1 glass ¼ taler'. By his other side on the table was a collection of clean mugs and glasses. Behind him on the ground a girl around Mania's age was washing used glasses in a wooden trough under a pump.

Jack handed the old guy one taler and ordered four glasses of juice. When he'd helped the little ones to dismount, Danny watched with interest as the oranges were squeezed so that the juice was flowing into the glasses.

The twins beamed with joy at the rare treat and Mikele licked his lips as he took his own glass carefully. Once everyone was busy drinking, Jack crouched in front of Danny. "Tell me about Sam and Teal'c. Did they take you to the ruins?"

Danny shook his head. "This juice is sooo good." He sighed. "Thank you, Jack."

"You're welcome. Now, about Sam and Teal'c?"

"They're not here. That's why you don't know them."

"Oh-kay. Where might they be? Any ideas?" A sudden thought made him add. "Danny, were you at a hotel before you got lost at the ruins?"

Danny frowned. "A hotel?"

"Yeah, big, big house by the beach. Lots of fancy stuff like electric lamps, uh, nice restaurants? Lots of rich people and big gardens?" Maybe his folks were tourists spending the summer here. Maybe the kid had recognized Jack from the beach.

But Danny shook his head. "No."

"He could be from one of the big homes where some of the men mama takes to bed come from," Mikele suggested.

"He'th falled fwom the thky," Mania threw in, pulling up her nose in a very un-princess like manner. "How can he be fwom anywhewe elthe? If he'th fwom anywhewe elthe he'th comed fwom a cathle."

"There's no castle in Ba'th," Ranja said. "Just them ole ruins up there." He nudged the little boy. "How is it in the sky? Is it pretty?"

Danny looked heavenwards and three pairs of eyes followed his. "The sky is pretty. But when you are too far up it gets kinda dark."

"Where you thcawed?" Mania asked. "I don't like dark."

"No, not scared," Danny said. "It's dark, but there are lights. Just different lights than down here."

"Could you fly?" Ranja wanted to know. "You don't have wings. How could you fly?"

"I don't know," Danny said thoughtfully. "I just could."

Jack had thought taking a break and buying the kids some juice was a good way of getting some more information about this Sam and Teal'c or about where Danny had come from. Instead they were back to the star child story.

"No one can fly without wings." Mikele stuffed his hands into the pockets of his pants and scowled.

"Can, too," Ranja said and pointed at Danny. "He did. We saw."

"You thaw it, too!" Mania wrapped one protective arm around Danny. "He'th no a liaw, he'th not!"

"We don't really know what we saw," Mikele snapped.

Jack knew how torn the boy had to be between knowing it couldn't be and wanting to believe what he thought he had seen with his own eyes. A kid that had fallen from the sky in a bright light. Mikele's still child-like mind considered the idea that part of his little sister's fairy tales might be true. Another part in him - the part that had to grow up way too fast, was denying such a thing could be possible.

Jack himself didn't have the luxury of buying such a story at all. He had stopped believing in fairy tales a long time ago. So he had to get the conversation back on topic. But he had a feeling that as long as Mania and Ranja fed Danny's imagination with their own, he'd keep insisting on the fallen-from-the-sky tale.

He told them to put their empty glasses back. Then he scooped the twins and Danny onto Thor's back and down the road they went.

"I need to go and collect souvenirs from Ahmet," Mikele said when they turned onto the market road. "He pays me half a taler per day for selling his leftover postcards and stickers at the beach until season is over. Ranja's going to help." He looked worriedly at the sun. "We should run. Mania needs to go home and help mama with chores today."

Lots of the bazaar dealers hired kids for very little money to sell souvenirs on the beach when season was coming to an end, to empty their stores. Lots of tourists waited until these lasts days before buying postcards, stickers or other knickknacks because everything was on sale then.

Jack stopped Thor and put Ranja on his feet. "I'm gonna drop princess Mania off at home."

Mikele grabbed his little brother's hand and they ran off into the bazaar alleys while Jack continued to the Lance. The chatter on the royal horse's back had stopped by the time they reached the small hut where Mania's family lived and where her mother worked as a needlewoman for the wealthy population during the day and – from time to time – as a whore at nights. Jack didn't know where the kids' father had taken off to, only that he'd left his family a long time ago.

Due to her line of work the kids' mother knew a lot of the upper class people. Maybe she had an idea where Danny might live. Jack's hunch that he wasn't from the Lance or anywhere else around here became more and more a certainty. The kid would have said something if he recognized the area, right?

Sylvia was tending to her laundry in a large tub when they arrived, her hands red from scrubbing shirts on a washboard. She was a small woman with full breasts and thick, ebony hair. The hard lines around her mouth and dark eyes gave her an austere beauty.

"Where did you find her?" She didn't stop what she was doing when Jack helped Mania to slide to the ground. Addressing the girl she said, "Have the boys gone to see Ahmet?"

"Yeth, Mama, we thlept at the wuinth an' Jack gave uth bweakfatht."

"At the ruins! No wonder it took you so long to get here! I was waiting for you. I thought you went to sleep at your aunt's! At the ruins!" She sighed. "Go, and do your chores."

Mania ran off, but before she slipped into the house she turned and blew a quick kiss to Danny, who waved at her in return.

Her mother wiped her forehead with the back of a soapy hand. "I hope the brood didn't eat all your food. They aren't supposed to wander that far off at nights. But I can't have them here when I have... customers."

"That's okay," Jack said. "Actually, I wanted to talk to you about something."

She eyed him warily. "What? Did the kids get into trouble?"

"No, nothing like that. See Danny here?" Jack patted the boy's leg.

"Hi." Danny smiled.

Sylvia crossed her arms over her bosom. "I see him. Where does he come from?"

"That's the problem right there; I don't know. We found him at the ruins this morning. Well, Mikele and the twins did. And we have no idea where he came from. Or who he lives with."

"I fell from the sky," Danny informed her kindly.

She raised her eyebrows. "You did?"

Jack sighed. "That's his story. He's stickin' to it."

"Jack doesn't believe it," Danny said matter-of-fact.

Mania's mother looked at the boy. "Really? Right into those old ruins you fell?"

"Yes. I can't remember why, but I did. Are you the queen of Ba'th?" He eyed her curiously. "You are very pretty. Almost as pretty as Mania."

Jack had to bite the insides of his cheeks at the flabbergasted expression on her face.

She stared at him and then actually laughed, a surprisingly melodic and amiable sound for a woman who didn't have much to laugh about. "Thank you, I think. I've been called many things, but never a queen."

Jack cleared his throat and asked, "You haven't, by any chance, seen him before? Or maybe know who his parents might be? Does he look familiar to you?"

She dried her hands at her skirt and came closer. Danny raised his hands and Jack pulled him into his arms so she could have a better look. She gazed at the boy for a moment. Then she reached out and Danny placed his small white hand in her callused, red one.

Jack noticed her eyes widening with wonder or something else, he couldn't tell. For a moment she stood perfectly still, then she visibly shook herself and blinked.

"I... I'd remember a child like him. He's like milk and honey," Mania's mother said, softly. Then she took a step back. "Ask at the hotels. Or at the harbor area or where the rich people live."

"I thought he was a tourist brat, but he doesn't remember being at a hotel. Actually he doesn't seem to remember much of anything about who he is or where he comes from," Jack said.

"He's not from the Lance. Too well fed and not dirty enough," she verbalized Jack's earlier thoughts.

"Yeah. You know what's funny? He didn't have any clothes on him when I found him. He was buck naked. Almost as if..." But that was ridiculous, of course. Kids did not fall from the sky. Period.

"Maybe he really fell from the sky." Sylvia's mouth twitched, but then she sobered again. "I'll ask around. If I have something for you I'll let Mikele know. He usually knows where to find you. But try the harbor anyway. Can't hurt to show him around a bit."

"Right. I'll do that. Thanks." He wanted to put Danny back on the mule, but the little guy tugged at his shirt.

"Can I say goodbye to Mania?"

"Yeah, but be quick." He let him down and watched him running off into the house.

Sylvia had gone back to scrubbing her laundry. Now she looked up again. "Seems he's got a crush on my Mania."

"He's her prince."

"That girl..." She shook her head, but her eyes softened as she went back to work, not paying any further attention to Jack.


	2. Chapter 2

**II**

"Is Mania a real princess?" Danny asked later when they entered the harbor.

It had taken them some time to get here because Jack had stopped people on the Lance and asked them if they recognized his little sidekick, but nobody did. And everyone advised him to try the harbor.

"Well, she'd sure make a great princess, don'tcha think?"

"I love her hair," Danny said. "It's like fire. I think she's a real princess."

_And what exactly are __**you**__,_ Jack thought, looking at the boy who had fallen from the sky. One thing was for sure; his new friend was being noticed.

Locals and tourists alike turned to look at the cute, approximately four or five year old – Jack couldn't really tell, but Danny seemed around the twins' age, maybe a bit younger - blond boy in the oversized t-shirt riding the gray mule. Some tourists even snapped pictures. For a moment Jack considered taking money for photo ops, but instead he continued to ask folks if they had ever seen Danny around the harbor before. Or if they knew someone called Sam and Teal'c.

No one at the harbor had seen Danny before. But everyone agreed that he was cute as a button.

Several people knew a Sam, but after digging a little deeper those Sams turned out to be guys and Danny said 'his' Sam was a girl, well, a woman. "Sam is blond and has short hair," he pointed out when Jack questioned him some more.

"Like you?"

Danny raised minuscule eyebrows. "Like me?"

"Yeah. You got fair hair, like wheat. So, is your Sam blond like you or is her hair darker?" As an afterthought he added, "You don't happen to know her eye color, huh?" He doubted a kid would take notice of these things, but it couldn't hurt to try.

Danny thought about that for a moment, then nodded. "Her hair is like gold. And her eyes are blue, like mine. But she's not my mommy."

"Where is your... mommy? Do you remember?" Jack noticed the different term for mother. Not how kids usually referred to their mamas. Another sign he wasn't from around here?

"My mommy and daddy are dead. That happened when the cover stone fell on them. In New York," Danny said quietly.

Oh, this was getting better and better. Not. "I'm sorry to hear that," Jack said softly. And he filed away another place he'd never heard of. New York? He could put two and two together about the cover stone. Probably an accident.

Suddenly Jack felt a small palm patting the top of his head...

...There was a voice coming from somewhere, somber and quiet and Jack caught bits and pieces of what it said. "The cover stone fell and buried them underneath. I watched it all... couldn't do a thing... the game keeper choosing that particular memory..." He heard the clink of a bottle against another, and something else, like a soft clicking in the background. Cue balls. Then the voice continued "...all those flowers, really pretty..." And Jack knew about the flowers. The garden of flowers and the annoying man running around, yelling at people to stop touching anything and those gardens created another image of flower chains and blue squiggles of paint, but it wasn't connected to the gamekeeper and his planet of...

...Jack was standing on the sun drenched street at the harbor, Thor beside him with Danny on top. And Danny had just touched his head and said, "It happened a long time ago. Can we go to the boats, Jack?"

"The boats," Jack murmured a bit dazed as he tugged at Thor's reins and walked on.

Danny said "Hi" to everyone and had fun with the colorful boats at the pier. Some had sails, others ran on steam.

The star child asked questions. Lots of them.

Where did the boats go? Did the boat's captains live on their boats? Did the boat's captains own the boats? Had Jack ever taken a boat tour? Why not? Could they take a boat tour? Why not? Were the steamers faster than the sail boats? Were there fishing boats, too? And were there actually fish in the ocean?

Jack nodded at that one. "Of course there's fish in the ocean. All the restaurants here serve local fish. And they're selling it on the fish market."

"You like to fish, don't you?"

"Sometimes, yeah."

"There are no fish in the pond in Minnesota."

He blinked. "Minnesota? Is that where you used to live?"

"No, you did. As a boy." Danny pointed at a big steamer with many colorful pennons strung on a line flattering in the light breeze. "Look! That's pretty!"

"I don't even know where this Minnesota is supposed to be," Jack said. "I lived in a town like Ba'th when I was a kid."

The owner of the steamer had spotted them and heaved himself out of the chair he'd been sitting in. He eyed Jack and Thor suspiciously. "If you're not looking for a tour I suggest you move right along, pal."

"Hey, I don't want any hassle," Jack assured the man.

"Good. Keep it that way."

Most boat owners spent their mornings sitting out here, waiting for customers. Occasionally, they stalked up and down the pier, calling out their tour prices. They didn't like beach sellers or beggers invading their territory. It was bad for business. If tourists felt crowded they'd leave.

"But we could take a tour, couldn't we? It's such a pretty boat," Danny said hopefully.

The captain looked up and the grim expression on his face changed into a grin. "You like boats, little man?"

Danny cocked his head and pursed his lips. "I dunno. I like this one. It's pretty."

"Sure is. You ever been on a steamer before? Maybe your dada here can fork out two taler and you take a look around."

"Sorry," Jack said. "We're in a bit of a hurry." He pulled Thor around to leave, not bothering to ask the guy if he'd seen Danny before. Against the overall opinion that the kid wasn't from the Lance, this guy thought Jack was his father, so he'd most likely never seen him here before either.

"Why are we in a hurry?" Danny asked as they continued on their way around the harbor's cove.

"We're trying to find your folks, remember? Look around – any of this seem familiar? You been here before?"

"No," Danny said distractedly. "Jack? What's over there?"

To their right, opposite the piers, were food booths similar to Viktor's. Further ahead, and in the direction Danny pointed, was the fish market and the fishing port. The fish, fresh from the ocean, was stacked in boxes with crushed ice to keep it from being spoiled by the heat.

"The fish market!" Danny exclaimed when Jack told him. "Can we go there? Do they sell living fish, too?"

"Some do."

"Jonas has fish," Danny shared. "In an aquarium. In his office."

"Who's Jonas?" Jack asked quickly. Keeping up with the bits and pieces of information the kid put into all that rambling wasn't easy.

"A guy."

"What guy?"

"He smiles a lot."

"Yeah? Friendly fella, is he? Is he a friend of Sam and... what's his name again..."

"Teal'c." Danny shrugged. "I guess so." Then he switched the subject again. "What are the men yelling over there by the fish?"

"Those are barkers. They are trying to out-yell each other."

"Why?"

"To let folks know their fish is the best and the freshest. They all want to sell their fish so they're yelling to get people's attention," Jack explained. His hopes of finding Danny's family any time soon started to dwindle. If the kid didn't even know the fish market, he'd probably really never been here before.

He led Thor closer to the water where the market was less crowded. Danny's head started to swivel again. Jack was glad he had the mule with him. He had a feeling he'd be chasing after the boy all over the place otherwise, to keep him out of trouble or from getting lost.

Jack spent the next couple of minutes providing Danny with the names of all the fish he pointed to. Greentail snappers, bass, black snappers, salmon, have no idea what that squid thing is... Danny didn't like the giant prawns, but loved the stalls where they sold fresh herbs, lemons and bread to go with the fish. The smell of dill and rosemary followed them as they moved on.

At one stall, fish filets were grilled over a hot coal pan and then served with rice and yellow peas.

Danny sniffed approvingly as they passed by. "Oh, this smells so good!"

"You can't possibly be hungry again after all that bread and cheese you had?"

"My belly feels all hollow," Danny informed him. "Like there's a big HOLE in it." He let go of Thor's mane and held his hands up and wide apart, demonstrating how big of a hole there was in his belly.

Jack snorted. "That big, eh?"

"Big big hole," Danny confirmed.

"And you're sure you've never been here before?" Jack tried again.

"No. I never needed to be here."

"What does that mean?"

Danny shrugged, then pointed at the grill. "Can I have some of that fish, please?"

"You really that hungry?"

He nodded enthusiastically. "It seems so long since I ate. Well, before this morning. I wanna try everything."

"At once?'" Jack teased.

Danny laughed.

Jack bought a bowl of fish and rice, paid a small fortune for it and dragged Thor away to a bench he could tie him to. He dismounted Danny, put him on the bench and sat beside him, placing the bowl between them. Danny immediately reached into it and picked a piece of fish just as Jack warned, "Careful, it's..."

"OW! Ow ow ow!" The bit of fish ended up on the ground and Danny stared at his fingers.

"...hot," Jack finished with a suppressed sigh.

"Hurts," Danny sniffled.

"It'll be okay in a minute. Here, let me." Jack took his hand and blew over the fingertips several times, which made the tyke giggle.

"I'd say you got lucky. All fingers still there," Jack said after a throughout inspection of Danny's hand. There was a bit of redness, nothing else. "Better?"

"Yes. That tickled when you blew on my fingers."

Jack showed Danny the small wooden fork he'd gotten with the bowl. "Let's try this again." He started stirring the food in the bowl and blew over it.

Danny laughed. "Now you're tickling the fish."

"Just making sure you won't burn your little motor-mouth." _And that not more of this precious meal ends up in the dirt,_ he thought bemused. He never bought food over here, it was hideously expensive. But he didn't want to drag Danny all the way back to the Lance until they'd taken a tour to the residential district. Neither did he want to deal with a hungry, whining kid.

He was beginning to wish he'd checked the beaches first. Might have been the better choice. But he had to go there later anyway and thought he'd save some time if he didn't have to traipse back and forth between beaches and harbor.

"Oh, I always used to talk too much," Danny murmured. He took the fork when Jack held it out to him and started eating slowly. He managed a quarter of what was in the bowl, which wasn't much. Apparently his eyes and nose had been more hungry than the rest of him.

Jack peered at the fish. "You don't like it?"

"I liked it very much. But not hungry anymore," Danny said quietly.

Jack finished the food which was really tasty, but not nearly enough to be worth what he had paid for it. He'd get two helpings like that over at the Lance. Granted, more rice and peas than fish, but still.

He looked at the bowl and fork thoughtfully. Both were carved wood, polished and painted in red and yellow. Fancy stuff for the tourists who wanted a rustic snack rather than going to the restaurants. Pursing his lips, he stood and stashed bowl and spoon into one of Thor's bags. He already had a bowl and a spoon, but, hell, he'd paid enough for the fish to own the dishes, too.

Once Danny was back on the royal mule Jack opted for leaving the harbor and taking the road up to the exclusive residential area. Built into the rocks just like the small houses on the other side of the mountain, the villas overlooked the harbor cove and Jack thought it had to be great to watch the sun set up there while sitting in some nice living room or on a balcony, sipping coffee.

However, he got the same view sitting on the bluff with the sun warming his face and the sea gulls being the only company early in the morning or late in the evening during sunsets.

Jack stopped people on the street again, gesturing at the boy, asking if anyone knew him. Again he received head shakes or vague shrugs and Danny got smiles and smiled in return.

The higher up they came, the less crowded the streets were. Sometimes a gardener stopped what he was doing and nodded in greeting. They had to make space for several small curricle pulled by petite ponies. Families on the way to town. The parents gave Jack suspicious glances, some of the kids pointed at Thor and laughed.

"Why are they laughing?" Danny asked when another curricle had passed. Jack suddenly realized it was the first thing he'd said in a while. Probably since they'd left the fish market.

"About his long ears, maybe." Jack pulled at one of Thor's ears playfully and the mule bared his teeth.

"I like his ears."

"Yeah, me too."

Danny beamed at him and Jack had to grin. The kid was like a sunny day. When he smiled you had to smile back. He realized with some unease how easy it was to like this child.

They took another turn and found themselves at a view point halfway up the mountain. Only a small wooden fence, or more the excuse of one since it barely reached Jack's knees, was between them and the ocean deep down at the bottom. The mountainside fell straight away and there was nothing but water meeting sky at the horizon.

They moved off the road and stopped by the fence when another curricle passed them. Jack squinted further up the mountain, wondering if there was a point in continuing on this road. The kid had made it pretty clear he didn't recognize anything in this area. Or anywhere else.

"Ohhhh," Danny exclaimed and quickly slid from Thor's back. Jack caught him around the middle before he plummeted all the way to the ground.

"Careful there," he warned. And as soon as he let him down Danny attempted to take the fence. Jack quickly scooped him up again. "Where do you think you're going? You can't just jump off the cliff," he scolded mildly.

"Wasn't going to jump! Wanted to see the birdies better."

Jack followed Danny's outstretched finger and spotted a flock of gulls circling close to the water's surface, looking for prey.

"Just keep in mind you can't fly like them," Jack muttered.

"I could fly. When I was in the sky."

"But you fell down and now you're stuck with us normal people. So don't try to fly from cliffs and watch your step, okay?"

Danny nodded and started sucking on his thumb.

The star child thing was getting a bit old, but Jack decided to leave it to whoever the kid belonged to, to deal with that issue.

Once he'd found those people.

"Danny?" He gently pulled the thumb from the kid's mouth. "I need you to help me out here a bit."

Big blue eyes gazed at him questioningly.

"I need you to try and remember anything about your... about Sam and this Teal'c. Anything that'll help me find them. Can you do that?"

A nod.

"Sweet. What about Teal'c? What's he look like? Is he big? Like really huge?" Somehow Jack thought he might be.

Danny cocked his head and Jack almost had to look away from that gaze. The boy seemed to see right to the bottom of his soul. It was creepy. Yet, he couldn't turn away. He was caught in that dazzling blue of eyes way too old for a child this young.

A small palm touched Jack's cheek, like a feather...

...He was in a large, dark hall. A prison. He smelt sweat and fear. People screamed as he felt bodies brush past him in panic. Jack slowly turned in a circle and faced a huge, dark man with a gleaming gold tattoo on his forehead. The weapon hissed nastily as it was aimed at Jack.

He heard himself yell, "I can save these people! Help me!"

The Sinner, only he wasn't a Sinner, he was a... something else... raised his firing stick higher. "Many have said that." Then he spun and his stick spat fire at his fellow guards, killing them one by one. He turned back to Jack, throwing his weapon at him. "But you are the first I believe could do it!"

Jack caught the stick and the other guy took one from the dead guards. They kept fighting. For their survival. For their freedom. They sealed a bond for life...

...Jack felt light headed. He leaned against Thor's strong neck for support and his arm around Danny tightened in order not to drop him. The sun seemed glaringly bright compared to the prison cell he'd just...

"What the hell," he ground out.

"Jack?" Danny sounded worried. "You're squashing me."

He took a deep breath. No prison cells. No weapons. No Sinner.

_Teal'c_, Jack thought, _that's him._

But it couldn't be.

He looked into Danny's concerned eyes, almost afraid of what he'd see there. But they were just the eyes of a child now. Yet...

"What just happened?" Jack asked sharply.

"What?"

"What did you... do?"

"I didn't do anything."

"Yes, you did." And he'd done it before, down by the piers. Somehow. Something...

"What did I do?" Danny looked puzzled.

"I don't know!" Maybe Jack was just going bonkers. Losing it. Going nuts. Waco. Three fries short of a... whatever. He took a deep breath.

"Teal'c is big. His skin is like dark chocolate. And he's got no hair," Danny provided helpfully.

"He's wearing some fancy gold tattoo on his forehead," Jack guessed, feeling chilly.

"The sign of Apophis, yes."

"Who?"

"The god he used to serve. Only he's not really a god."

Jack shook his head. No. No way. "The Sinner... that's a myth. They don't exist. It's just stuff from old history books, nothing more."

Nothing of this made any sense. And he really had no time to figure all this out. He had to get rid of the kid somehow. Soon.

Without another word he swung Danny up on Thor's back and was on his way down the road.


	3. Chapter 3

**III**

The larger part of Hadis' shop was crammed with the cheap, colorful clothes imported from Madinah City. T-shirts, jackets, pants and caps in all sizes hung from racks or were stacked in shelves. Sunglasses, bathing suits and shawls; you could buy almost everything in the bazaar. The quality often matched the low prices, but the less wealthy tourists and locals still bought them. On another wall, fastened to hooks, was leather wear from the local saddlers; handbags, purses, belts and pouches.

In the front aisle Masala had displayed pottery.

Danny was immediately taken by the jars and statues. He attempted to pick up one of the clay animals, a sea lion, but Jack pulled him away. He wasn't going to pay for any broken pottery.

Danny dug his heels in. "I just wanna look at it."

"Not now. I'd like you to meet..."

"Please?"

Those eyes again.

Jack sighed. "You know the difference between looking and touching, buddy?"

Danny frowned. "Yessss..."

"You can look with your eyes, not with your hands. Got it?"

The kid held up his hands and studied them as if he hadn't seen them before. "I really got small hands," he mumbled.

"Yeah, but small or not, don't touch anything," Jack insisted. Then he called out for Hadis, but since today was his lucky day, it wasn't his friend who emerged from between the clothes racks.

Dressed in something flowing red and gold – a traditional strip of garment wrapped around the waist and draped over one shoulder – Masala greeted him with a smile. The garment reached down to her feet, perfectly matching her red blouse and skirt. It rustled softly with every step she took.

"Jack! How nice to see you!"

_Oh, crap_. "Ye-ah. I thought I'd stop by. Is your father in?"

She shook her head. "I'm sorry, you just missed him. Can I help you with something?" Her voice was soft and melodic and she blushed.

Jack busied himself with pulling Danny away from the pottery once more.

"I didn't look with my hands," the little guy complained.

"Just come here for a moment," Jack muttered.

"Why?"

"I want you to meet someone. Danny, this is Masala." He moved the kid like a shield between them. "Masala, Danny."

It worked like a charm. She took one look down and all her attention was drawn to the little one. Jack congratulated himself for his smart move.

"Hello," Danny said readily. "I love your dress. Are you a princess, too?"

She crouched in front of him and took his hands. "Hello, Danny. Thank you. It's called a Sattika and my mama made it for me."

"Women in India wear them," Danny shared.

"Is that where you come from?"

He laughed. "Nooo."

She raised her head, giving Jack a questioning look, and he shrugged. "He's the mystery guy. No one knows where he comes from." He waited for Danny to share with her how he'd fallen from the sky, but Masala was already asking the next question.

"So, you are a friend of Jack's then? Did he let you ride Thor?"

"Yes, yes, he let me ride Thor all through town," Danny said excitedly. "And we went to the harbor and looked at the boats and we had fish for lunch and I burnt myself, but Jack made it better and then we went to the big houses and looked at the ocean."

"Really? And what are you going to do next?"

"I dunno. Jack, what are we gonna do next?" Danny looked at him, expectation all over his round face.

"Well, actually, I have to get to work..." he started vaguely.

Danny turned to Masala. "We have to go to work," he said with a firm nod.

Jack pinched the bridge of his nose. "Look, kiddo..."

Apparently sensing he was in some kind of dilemma, Masala stood and held out an inviting hand to Danny. "Why don't you have some cool apple tea and cookies before you go to work. Would you like that? You can come with me and pick your cookies."

"Jack? Can I have tea and cookies before we go to work?"

He nodded. "Sure, why not. Go ahead."

Danny grabbed Masala's hand and let her take him away. Jack eyed the exit. If he left real quick, maybe... oy, bad idea. Hadis would find him and kick his ass for dumping the kid on his daughter like that.

Masala returned without Danny. She brushed a strand of coffee-colored hair out of her face. "He is adorable. He's a very special little boy." She let out a nervous little laugh. "I don't know what... There's something about him, something so innocent." There was an undertone in her voice, like she'd just experienced something really strange, but was already beginning to think she'd just imagined it.

"Like milk and honey, I know," Jack said dryly. He almost asked her if she'd seen or heard anything weird in her head when Danny had taken her hand, but he'd rather bite his tongue than admit to her what had happened to him.

Whatever it was that actually _had_ happened.

"Who is he? Do you get paid for watching him?"

"Uh, nope. I have no idea. He was just... there." Jack scratched the back of his head. "Somehow I got stuck with him. I've been trying to find his folks, but it turns out to be a lot more complicated than I thought."

He gave her a quick run down of his day, without mentioning his brief encounters with mental delusion. It had probably been a one time thing anyway. He'd heard too much of this Sinner stuff from the kids and his mind had somehow... done... something... weird. But he felt okay now, very normal. Not delusional.

_But,_ a persistent voice whispered in the back of his head, _it happened twice. Earlier by the pier when he told you about his parents..._

Jack stomped that voice down and ended his explanation with, "The thing is, I really need to work and I can't drag him around with me all day. Sooo, I was wondering if you could, you know, watch him for a while?"

That hadn't been his intention when he'd come here. He had wanted to ask Hadis for some advice on what to do with the kid, but now that she was here and he knew she loved kids, it was worth a try...

"Oh, I would love to watch him for you, Jack. But..."

"He's a great kid. No trouble at all, very easy going."

"I don't doubt that for a second. It's just that I'll have customers and no one else will be here this afternoon to help."

"I'd really really appreciate it, Masala." He gave her what he hoped was a desperate enough look. If she really loved him she couldn't refuse, right? Wasn't that how it worked?

She sighed. "Wouldn't it be better to take him to the beach with you and keep looking for his family? I'd love to watch him when I'm not alone around here. Today just isn't a good time."

He bit his lip. She was right. He hadn't checked the beaches yet. But somehow he had a feeling he wouldn't find anyone related to Danny there either. Somehow he started to believe...

_I fell from the sky. _

...something was really odd here.

Customers entered the store, a bunch of young men already laden with shopping bags. Jack groaned inwardly at the familiar mohawk. Today it was purple, not yellow, and he looked kind of scruffy. But Jack immediately recognized the handsome face with the strong chin, the dark eyebrows and the full lips.

"I'm sorry," Masala said softly. "I have to tend to these people. Danny is in the back eating his cookies. If you need me to babysit tomorrow, bring him over."

Jack hung back and watched the guys discussing the pottery. Then two of them asked Masala for certain shirts and she led them over to the clothes. Mohawk stayed to look at a couple of bowls, jars and statues.

He wore a black leather vest, showing off his biceps again, and white, loose-fitting pants. Jack's eyes were drawn to his hands, though, and the way he seemed to caress the clay statues and jars as he picked them up one by one to examine them. A fingertip brushed over carved lines and glyphs and he cupped a bowl almost tenderly.

A dull, slow, ache took Jack's breath away and, even though it wasn't physical pain, he had to resist the need to rub his chest or to let out the gasp that wanted to escape him. Then the feeling was gone and he could breathe freely again.

_What the hell is wrong with me today?_

Mohawk-guy smiled, totally self absorbed in what he was doing. He turned the jar he held over and over with his hands, then put it back. When he raised his head, Jack couldn't retreat fast enough and their eyes met over the distance of a couple of small shelves.

Somehow Jack was sure Mohawk's eyes had to be blue. But in here they seemed to be gray. Like slate.

"Oh, it's you," Mohawk said mildly.

"And? So? Therefore?" Jack countered, stone faced.

"Nothing. I just didn't expect to meet you here." He picked up the jar again. "This is a perfect copy of an ancient jar. Whoever made this has gifted hands. See the glyphs? And the painting? Flawless work."

"It's just a fake. The design is copied from a book."

"But it's done extremely well for a fake. I have seen real artifacts like this where I work. It comes close," Mohawk said.

"All right, what are you – exactly? Some history lover? An art collector? What?" Jack had asked him if he had degrees in archeology or linguistics or whatever and the guy had said no. But he knew his stuff, that was for sure.

"I'm still at the university. I study ancient architecture and its history. I will reconstruct ruins such as the ones here in Ba'th once I have my degree. Most of the history records we work with are very vague. Very little known facts about our ancestors and the whole dynasty of the gods. But architecture is solid. It's real. It talks to you." A knowing smile quirked the guy's lips. "Of course you know all about your ruins and their architecture."

"I know what I need to know." Jack shrugged, grudgingly impressed by Mohawk's passionate speech. He nodded at the pottery in his hand. "If you want to do the owner a favor buy that jar."

Mohawk raised an eyebrow. "Are you the owner?"

"Nope. The girl is, or rather her father."

"Ah, well, then I think I can do them that favor."

"You wouldn't do that kind of favor for me?" Jack raised an eyebrow in return.

"You already got your favor. I didn't insist on getting my money back."

"Hey, I toured you around. Told ya a heck of a story, too." Jack scowled. "I earned that money, pal."

Mohawk grinned and walked away, carrying the jar with him to where his friends and Masala were just closing the deal on several shirts.

Jack grimaced at the retreating purple hair and the tight vest. The way he walked, flaunting his ass just enough to draw attention to it. Jack wanted to call him a queer, but that'd be a pot calling the kettle black even though Jack kept his queer-ness strictly on the inside.

It was time to pick up the star child and make the best of what was left of the day. He cast a longing look to the exit where Thor waited patiently for his return. He could probably get away with leaving Danny here and coming back tonight... if he brought Masala flowers or something...

And fuel her false hopes.

Not gonna happen.

He made his way across the store and stuck his head through the curtain to the back room. "Hey, Danny..."

The room was stuffed with boxes and bags. On a small table was a silver samovar and a half full glass of apple tea. But no kid. Just a bowl with cookies and lots of crumbs covering the table and the carpet underneath.

There was no other door in here so Danny had to be somewhere in the shop... unless he had left without anyone noticing while Jack had been busy checking out Mohawk – again.

He found Masala folding the t-shirts her customers had tried on but not bought. "Is the kid with you?" he asked, even though Danny was clearly no where in sight.

She looked up, surprised. "Isn't he still in the back?"

"Nope. I think he ate most of your cookies though."

Masala called out for Danny, but there was no reply. They went looking for him in the corners and between shelves.

The kid was gone.

"He probably got bored and went out to explore the bazaar," Masala said. "Do you think he'll find his way back here?"

"Uh, I don't know, but I gotta go."

Jack couldn't believe his luck. Problem solved. Danny was a bright and charming kid. He'd find someone else to babysit him. And maybe that someone would have a lot more luck in finding his family.

Masala pursed her lips. "You can't just go. Don't you want to find him?"

"Well, he's not mine. If he took off to explore, who knows where he is by now. Could be anywhere." And that took it out of Jack's hands, right? Kids around here had to learn to fend to themselves all the time.

_But he's not from around here and he's probably even younger than the twins._

Jack had tried his best to help the boy. He'd done a lot more than most people would. Had fed him, clothed him and dragged him around town all morning to try and find his folks.

"He's very small," Masala said, open disapproval lacing her voice. "He shouldn't be alone out there. The bazaar can be a dangerous place for children who don't know how to avoid bad people and seedy shops. I don't think he knows to be watchful or careful. I've just met him, but I think he's too trusting and too curious for his own good."

"He'll be fine. I need to..." He pointed back over his shoulder at Thor.

"I really thought better of you, Jack O'Neill," she huffed, nostrils flaring with annoyance. "If I wasn't alone in the store today, I would go after him myself! Maybe I should!"

Great. Maybe she lost that crush on him now. "Sorry. I'm sure he'll be okay."

"Oh, you should be ashamed of yourself, leaving like that! I thought you liked children! I thought you cared about people a lot more than you let on! You cannot just go!" Sweet Masala had just turned into a little spitfire and as he slipped out the door, a flood of very colorful and interesting swear words followed him.

Women around here all had a temper, even the most amicable ones.

Jack grimaced as he untied Thor quickly.

"Move it," he muttered as he pulled the mule with him and they wove their way through the crowded alleys. Lots of people were running errands or shopping at this time of day. The bazaar was brimming with customers bargaining or just looking.

_Very easy for a child to get lost around here._

Jack let his eyes dart from left to right, dreading and hoping to spot the fair head somewhere.

He couldn't take care of that kid. Not for good. And he had no idea what to do with him if no one seemed to miss him. What did you do with a stray child? Law Enforcement came to mind, but Jack preferred not to get anywhere close to a LE department. And what would they do with the bug anyway? They'd probably just throw him out again after a while.

Gritting his teeth, Jack left the bazaar.

_Maybe he'll find his way back to Masala. If that happens, they can let me know. _

And maybe someone in need of a small child would find him and show him how to squeeze himself through narrow gaps of open windows and collect valuable things. Or teach him how to beg and pickpocket and hand everything over to the hand that fed him.

Some of the poorest kids ended up 'working' for someone, mostly those without any family left. Jack had no means of changing anything for anyone. Not for real. Life was as it was. Sometimes it sucked.

He had almost reached the Lance when he spotted Jorge, the king of bullies, cornering an elderly woman. With her back against the wall she clutched her small, battered shopping bag with both hands. There was no way she'd be able to fight him. Jorge was a bulky, angry kid with wild black hair and fast fists.

Jack barked out across the street. "Hey! Leave her alone and get lost!"

The young man turned slowly, his eyes under the long bangs narrowing. "Get lost yerself, O'Neill!"

"What do you want from her anyway? Doesn't look like she's got any money." He crossed the street, eyes on the knife in the teen's fist.

"I don't, I don't," the woman cried out. "Spent all for my dinner here." She held on to her bag even more tightly.

"Still more than I have," Jorge bleated.

"Go, rob someone who has the money to spare." Jack snapped. "Or try working." He had reached them now, but Thor started going backwards, not happy about the loud voices and all the ruckus.

Jorge spat at his feet. "Do what your mule wants to do. Hit the road. Scat." The long, sharp blade of the knife was openly aimed at him now. The trembling old woman started scuttling sideways, her back still against the wall, her red-rimmed small eyes darting back and forth between her attacker and Jack.

"All right, all right." Jack turned away, then let go of Thor's reins, swung back and just as the knife slashed the air by his left ear, he seized and locked Jorge's wrist, then kicked the legs out from under the outraged and surprised youngster. Jack was on top of him, weighing him down with one knee pressed to his back and one hand in his hair, yanking his head back. "Mugging old people? Bullying little kids is bad enough, but this is low, even for you."

Behind them he heard fast footsteps as the victim ran off.

"Son of a bitch, let me GO!" Jorge squirmed and bucked, but Jack didn't budge.

"Don't you ever point a knife at me again," he ground out, giving the thick mop of hair another harsh yank. "Not. Ever."

"Shit, stop it! I won't! I won't, okay?" Jorge howled in pain. Like most bullies he didn't deal very well with being at the receiving end of the bullying.

Jack surged to his feet, pulling the culprit with him by the collar of his shabby old jacket. He swung him around, grabbed his shoulders and shoved him back against the wall. Jorge squeezed his eyes shut, apparently expecting to be hit.

Jack's adrenalin level dropped like a rock.

"Get outta my hair," he snarled. "Nice and easy does it. Pick up your knife and leave. Come at me again and you'll regret it."

"Okay, okay." The kid stared at him. That was all he was now. A kid, too big even for his 16 or 17 years. Too big to squeeze through small openings and in no way cute or helpless anymore to beg successfully. And too clumsy or not much of a blend-in to pick pockets without being noticed.

Jack stepped back. Jorge's eyes followed his every move.

"I didn't want her money," he finally spat, wiping an arm over his red face. "I wanted her dinner."

Jack was tired. And still angry. But mostly tired. "Pick up your knife."

Jorge pushed off the wall and then didn't move. "I pick it up and you'll kick me down."

"That what you think?" Jack quickly bent, took the knife and held it out to the youth.

Jorge snatched it from Jack's grasp, looked at it as if he considered attacking again. Then he shrugged and stashed it away. He grimaced and rubbed the back of his head, then winced and held his wrist.

Jack eyed him wearily. "You gonna live?"

"Sure, It's nothing." He carefully circled his shoulders. "I had worse."

Jack didn't doubt that for a moment. It didn't make him feel any better about smacking around a kid like that, even if it was a rotten, no-good kid. He walked over to Thor who had backed off but at least hadn't run. He was about to leave when Jorge asked. "Where did you learn to fight like that, O'Neill?"

"Grew up on the streets like you."

"I've never seen anyone your age move that fast." There was grudging respect in his voice. "Thought all you could do was kick a ball around. You could show me some of those moves."

"Forget it." He turned to go, but he felt Jorge's gaze linger on him.

"I wasn't really going to stab you. I was just mad. Didn't have anything in my stomach all day."

"Could've fooled me," Jack muttered. Sure this was one of the most stupidest ideas he'd ever had, he faced the teen again. "You want to earn yourself some dinner instead of mugging another poor soul?"

Immediately there was suspicion again all over his grim face. "Earn – how?"

"I'm looking for a kid. Little bugger, light blond hair, big blue eyes. He's dressed in an oversized blue t-shirt with a yellow shawl wrapped around his middle. You help me find him, I pay you."

"I take orders from no one, no more, unless the payment's good," Jorge snarled.

"It's an offer. Take it or leave it." Thor pushed at Jack's shoulder with his nose and they started walking away.

"How much?"

"Thought you weren't interested?" Jack threw a glance over his shoulder. "Enough for a decent meal. One time offer."

"One of the rugrats from the ball game?" Jorge called after him.

"Nope."

"Yours?" Jack could hear the boy following him.

"Not mine, just... He's been with me today and wandered off. I lost him at the bazaar. I last saw him at Hadis' shop. He took off from there."

"Maybe he doesn't like your company."

Jack growled and continued to stalk off. But the youngster caught up with him as they entered the bazaar

ooo

Once they made sure Danny hadn't returned to Masala – who was pretty tight lipped upon Jack's return, but softened around the edges when she realized he'd come back to look for the boy - they'd left Thor at the shop and started searching the area, taking different routes.

They had agreed on meeting at the shop again when the town's tower clock chimed two. Jack didn't hold his breath; he was pretty sure Jorge would lose interest and leave, but that'd be his loss then.

He entered shops, talked to people, called out for Danny, looked into every nook and cranny. He paid special attention to snack booths and the shops that sold candy and toys.

What the hell could have made Danny leave Masala and her cookies in the first place? Had he just decided to walk out or had something piqued his curiosity? If Jack had learned one thing about Danny it was that he was curious about almost everything.

But there was no blond little kid at the toy shops or the snack booths. Not around the ice cream stalls or at the old stone fountain in the center of the bazaar. Danny wasn't hiding under any of the tables laden with t-shirts in front of some shops. He wasn't watching the street musicians who beat their bongos and played the guitars around the fountain. And Jack didn't spot him anywhere in the small alleys between the shops either.

He had combed through as much of the bazaar on his side as possible and was about to start over again when he spotted Jorge's bulky figure walking towards him. And enthroned on his massive shoulders, waving both arms, was Danny.

"Jack! Jack! I met Jorge, see?!"

"Found him at the kahvehane just across from Hadis," Jorge said, shaking his head. "Was drinking what people left in their demitasses. Strangest kid I ever saw. Waiter was just going to throw him out."

Jack stared at the child. "He did... what?"

"I miss coffee," Danny pointed out, a tiny pout appearing on his chubby face. "I didn't like the tea. And I got bored. I wanted to wait with Thor and I smelled the mocha." He brightened at that. "It's the bestest smell in the whole wide world!"

Jorge let out a guffaw. "Got taste, too!"

"You followed the smell and walked into the coffee house," Jack concluded.

"Yes! But I had no money so I only drank what people didn't want anymore. There was a man who said it was a naughty thing to do, but, Jack, they had paid for their coffee and already left. I didn't steal anything."

Jorge looked like he'd never had so much fun in his life. Jack took the tyke from him and settled him on his hip. Danny looked puzzled. "I wasn't naughty, was I?"

"Drinking cold leftover coffee? No. Disgusting, yes. A bit strange, yes. Not naughty," Jack confirmed. "Running away without letting me know, however... that's a different story." And it didn't matter that he'd welcomed Danny's disappearance just a little while ago. That had been then, now was now and he'd been worried.

"You were talking to the guy with the funny hair," Danny said as if that explained everything. "You were busy."

"Just... don't do it again," Jack said. He reached into his pants and flipped two taler at Jorge, who caught them with ease. "Thanks."

Jorge stuffed the money into his own pants. "Funny little guy you got there."

"Ya think?"

"If you lose him again, let me know." He raised his hand and Danny high-fived him, then giggled.

Jorge glared at Jack. "You won't tell anyone you landed me on my ass. Or that I helped you finding the shrimp here for two lousy taler. Got a rep to lose."

Jack considered that. "Next time you and your hooligans show up for the game, you play without mowing the kids down or scaring them into losing? I bet they'd love to know how you looked sprawled in the dirt after trying to rob dinner from an old woman."

The boy's square, coarse face flamed a bright red, but he gave Jack a curt nod, then turned abruptly and vanished in the crowd.

ooo

Trying to find a good space on the beach at this time of day was pointless. Jack hoped he'd get lucky because it was so late in the season and some beach sellers had already closed their business for this summer, but it was almost 3 by the time they reached the barn. Jack had wasted all morning with Danny and it seemed he'd be stuck with the short stuff for the rest of the day.

Tomorrow was something he chose not to think about at this point.

Danny had wanted to look at the boats here, too. He thought they were as pretty as the ones at the big harbor and he didn't care that these were just simple, shabby row boats. He'd wanted to run around on the piers and hadn't been happy when Jack just kept walking and ignored any and all suggestions to stop and take a look here and there and everywhere.

When they'd entered the barn, the little sunshine had taken on Thor's mulish expression. But Jack had given him a clump of still wet clay he'd found on Hadis' work bench and now the star child was happily playing.

Jack let Thor have some hay and water while he packed his bags with stocks of postcards, cheap silver necklaces with small "Ba'th Town" pendants, photo books of the ruins and twenty sun caps from Hadis' shop. Then he strung his potteries together and attached them to Thor's bags as well.

When he paused in his work to look at Danny he had to grin at the expression of total concentration on the little face as the clay was rolled and squeezed. "Knew how to do this... not easy... hands too small," the boy muttered.

Thor's head butting Jack's kidneys drew his attention back to the task at hand. The mule wasn't happy about being prodded and loaded during his meal, but Jack really had to get a move on if he wanted to sell anything at all today. He growled at the beast and rubbed his back with one hand while he made sure everything was securely tied and settled.

He left Thor to finish his hay and checked on the clay Mikele had dried for him a couple of days ago. The boy had done a good job. Stashed away in small bags it was on the shelves, ready to be used. Jack believed Mikele would make a great apprentice to anyone who could spare the money to pay him. He was reliable, a quick study and willing to work.

Soft giggles reminded him of his little problem. Only when he looked over he knew he had a slightly bigger problem now.

Danny was still sitting on the floor, happily playing with the clay. The clay that was all over him now. His face, his t-shirt, his arms... He laughed out loud as he rubbed his hands through his hair, leaving it streaked and sticky with loam.

Oy.

"What do you think you're doing," Jack groaned. "And please tell me you didn't eat any of that?"

"Nooo! I wanted to make a bowl, but it didn't work."

"Sooo, you decided to wear a mud pack instead?"

"Noooo! I wanted to make a death mask."

"A... what?"

"A death mask. The Egyptians put masks over the faces of their dead so their bodies were recognized by the souls in the afterlife." A splotch of loam dropped on Danny's shirt. "But the clay keeps falling off my face. It feels funny on my skin, though. All sticky, slicky and icky!" He burst out laughing over his word play. "Slicky, sticky and icky," he repeated and held out his sticky, slicky, icky hands to Jack, wriggling his fingers.

Jack blinked, intrigued by this kind of knowledge coming from a little kid. He'd have to figure out where this Egypt was Danny kept talking about. However, he had other things to take care of. "C'mon, clay-man. Let's get your hands and face clean at the pump. And then we really have to go."

"Oh!" Danny rubbed his nose and sneezed. "I got some into my nose!"

_Well, at least no one can accuse him of not being dirty enough for being a Lance kid now,_ Jack thought. The little one had acquired plenty of dirt during the day.

Danny washed his hands and Jack wiped his face with an old cleaning rag he'd found in the barn. Most of the clay came off that way. But when he told Danny to hold his head under the pump to wash out his hair, the kid flatly refused.

"It's cold!"

"I know, but you're dirty."

"It's really COLD."

"Look, I don't have time for this. You want to get clean, you have to stick your head under there."

Danny crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head. "Don't want to get clean that bad."

"It'll dry and get all hard and crusted."

"That's okay. I don't mind."

Jack threw up his hands in surrender. He didn't have time to force the issue right now. They'd just both end up soaking wet if he wrestled the kid under the pump. "You gonna look like a little hedgehog," he warned.

Danny giggled at that and Jack rolled his eyes. "We'll have to stick you under the shower at the beach tonight," he decided when he helped the hedgehog to climb Thor's back.

"No," Danny said firmly. "I won't like that very much, thank you."

"Oh, yes. If you want to sleep under my blanket, you'll get clean first."

"When the clay is all dry it'll fall off on its own."

"I don't think so."

"I do."

"Nope."

"Yep."

Jack sighed.

It was going to be a long, long afternoon.


	4. Chapter 4

**IV**

There were two types of beach sellers. Some carried a vendor's tray and circled among the sun-bathing tourists, others had a place up by the boardwalks where they had all their goods spread out on a blanket. Jack's preferred space was close to Viktor's booth. There was a knee high stone wall to sit on and a wide strip of pavement next to the boardwalk to display his stuff. Right next to that space a wooden walkway led down to the water and everyone who came to the beach had to take that route and pass by Jack's blanket.

Sometimes, if Viktor had a lull in customers he'd watch Jack's space for a while and Jack went to circle among the sun-lounges to remind people he was sitting 'up there', selling the best merchandise, the cheapest souvenirs, the most beautiful postcards and the greatest pottery of Ba'th Town.

Of course today all the good places at the boardwalk were occupied and Jack ended up at Marsa Beach, one of the less exclusive areas. But even here the boardwalk was taken and he had to spread his vendor blanket out on the sand by the dunes. He didn't like how close the net ball field was and that he couldn't tie Thor anywhere.

He had to hobble the mule in order to keep him close. While Thor never wandered far as long as he had something to eat in reach, the beaches weren't a good place for him. Too many people and not nearly enough grass in sight to keep him happy for long. That, and taking mules or horses on the beach was illegal. So Jack had to watch out for Beach Patrol as well now.

He tied Thor's front legs together with a rope, leaving him enough space to walk around and maul at the beach grass. Thor's ears dropped a notch and he gave Jack a 'you've got to be kidding me' look.

"Sorry, buddy. It's just for a couple of hours."

Thor turned his butt on him, a very clear message of what he thought about this treatment.

When Jack spotted Danny toddling off towards the surf, he wondered if hobbles worked on little kids, too. He beat down the slight feeling of unease. Most little kids from the Lance were running around without adults watching over them all day. And bigger siblings who kept an eye on them were mostly busy, too.

But Jack didn't know if this particular child was used to being on his own. Could he even swim? Had he lived a sheltered life until... until someone dropped him in the ruins? That didn't exactly go together. Which brought Jack back to the origin of the problem. Where had he come form and where did he belong?

"Hey, Danny! Wanna help with setting up my stuff?"

Danny galloped back across the sand like a rollicking puppy, stopped short in front of Jack and plopped his butt on the blanket. "Yes!"

Jack laughed and instructed him on where to put what. Postcards to the left, fanned out so all the different motifs were visible, Necklaces in the middle, stickers next to them, then pottery. Bowls sorted in size and colors, jugs next to them. And to the far right side of the blanket, the sun caps.

Jack grabbed one of the caps and adjusted the head band, then placed it on Danny's head. "We don't want you to get sun burned." When the peak was so big that Jack couldn't make out the boy's face underneath, he swiftly turned the cap around so the peak was covering Danny's neck. Jack brushed bits of dry clay that had crumbled from Danny's hair off his thigh. "Yep, orange looks good on you."

Danny continued setting up the merchandise. He took his job very seriously. When he was done he jumped to his feet and stepped back to take a look. "Jack?"

"Yeah?"

"Do we have to sell all this stuff?"

"Well, it would be nice if we'd sell at least some of it."

Danny sat down next to Jack lotus-style and they watched out for potential buyers. When a group of tourists passed by on their way from the ball field, Jack called out a greeting and, once he had their attention, pointed out his low prices and lovely souvenirs.

He sold one orange sun-cap. The woman who bought it had spotted it on Danny's head and thought it was the most adorable thing to have for her own kid.

When the group left, Danny suddenly jumped to his feet and waved at them with both arms. "Tell all your friends we're here! Tell them, Jack and Danny are here, only today! We have the bestest and cheapest souvenirs! We have 'em all, just for today! Tell everyone!"

There was laughter and two women returned to ask Danny if he was Jack's barker and Danny said, yes, he was, and that he was the world's bestest barker EVER. There was more laughter and Jack sold some Ba'th stickers and two postcards to each woman.

It didn't take long until more folks showed up. Jack handed out more postcards and Danny told them to let everyone know they were here. "This is Jack and Danny's beach sale," he announced. "We have everything you want to take home from your vacation! Only here! Only today!"

Who would have known a kid with clay in his hair and on his shirt was such a draw in for customers? If Jack had known that before, he'd have taken the twins with him on his beach sale days.

Danny crawled across the blanket, collecting all the silver necklaces.

"Hey, hey, what'cha doin'? They're for sale, not for playing." Jack pulled him back by his t-shirt, but Danny had already made a mess of things. Everything was out of order and the tyke had necklaces dangling from both fists.

"Let me try something, Jack! I have an idea!" Danny twisted away, out of Jack's grasp, and came to his feet. He started to brush necklaces over his arms and hung them around his neck until he looked like a living jewelery-tree.

"Danny..." Jack reached for him again, but he was curious to see what the kid was up to, so he didn't put too much effort into actually catching him. Yet.

"No no no, look!" He whirled away, the long, silver chains of the necklaces chiming lightly. He skipped over the blanket and started strutting around in the sand, arms stretched wide to the sides, like a tin soldier on patrol.

"Silver necklaces for your sweetheart! Lovely necklaces for your sweetheart! Jack and Danny's beach sale has them! The most beeeaaauutiful necklaces! Come and get 'em! Only today! Only at Jack and Danny's beach sale!"

Every couple of steps he did a full body shake, belly and butt wriggling like jelly, and he raised his short arms over his head, causing the two dozen necklaces to sway and jingle and glitter in the sunlight.

One, two, three people showed up, amused by the kid's antics. Pictures were taken of the little barker and his necklace dance. Soon, a small crowd gathered and Jack had to get up and make sure none of his necklaces were picked from Danny without being paid for.

For the next hour he was selling necklaces as if they were the most treasured thing in the world.

Until someone yelled "Beach Patrol!"

As the warning was carried on to Jack, he rolled up his blanket with everything in it, tied the ends into knots and threw it over Thor's back. He stuffed the knotted ends under the bags to keep it from sliding down. Then he quickly untied the hobble, scooped up the living jewelery-tree and vanished between the dunes.

They reached the boardwalk unseen and without haste. The more you hurried the sooner you drew attention to yourself.

Danny had one arm wrapped around Jack's neck and they were both tangled in the necklaces still hanging all over the kid. "What's going on, Jack?" he whispered. "Jack? Why are we running?"

"We're not running, we're just leaving."

"Why're we leaving?"

"Because of Beach Patrol."

"What's Beach Patrol? Are they like the police? Is it my fault? What'd I do?" Danny sounded anxious now.

They reached a small stone fountain and Jack stopped and stood Danny on one of the benches surrounding it. He started to pluck the necklaces off him. "It's not your fault, kiddo. Mules and horses aren't allowed on the beach. Only up here on the boardwalks. So we had to leave quickly."

Danny's eyes grew big. "Would they throw us into jail if they caught us? Would they torture us?"

"Torture us? No, of course not. What makes you think that?"

Beach Patrol was a bitch. If they caught Thor on the wrong side of the boardwalk Jack had to pay a fee. And if he couldn't pay right away, they'd take the mule from him and he'd have to pay double to get him back. But Jack had never heard of anyone being tortured or imprisoned for breaking this particular law.

Danny shrugged. "Been tortured before. And locked away. Many times."

Jack almost laughed. That kid? He looked like a cherub. No one in his right mind would harm a single hair on his head. Then again, the world could be a scary dark place and not every scar was visible on the body. He took off Danny's cap, to pull the last couple of necklaces over his head, and brushed a hand through the spiky loam-crusted hair.

The words fell from his lips before the thought even consciously formed in his mind. "No one's going to hurt you, Danny. You're safe with me."

"I know." Danny said softly.

And Jack wanted nothing more than to leave him right here. Wanted to run away from the promise he'd just made. From everything that promise might imply. And from the certainty that Danny was going to touch him again and give him another one of those delusions. He didn't want anymore of that. He wanted to turn his back and continue with his life the way he'd lived it until today.

But Danny didn't touch him and Jack pulled the last necklace over his head. He stored all of them away in Thor's bags and placed the cap back on the kid's head. "It's time for that shower we talked about."

"Will it be cold?" Danny asked warily.

"Not cold, just wet."

"Will I get soap in my eyes?"

"We'll try our best to avoid that. But we have to wash your hair."

"Can brush it out."

"Nope."

"Yes."

"No."

"Jaaack."

"Yep, that's me, nice to meet you."

Danny giggled. "You're silly."

They reached Hooriya beach when the town's tower clock chimed 7. Viktor was just cleaning his popcorn pot when Jack tied Thor to the back of the booth and carried his bags inside.

"Where have you been? Haven't seen you all day," Viktor greeted him.

"Was late and all the good spaces were taken," Jack said. "You have any ice cream left?"

"Nothing. They raided me completely. Which is good. Everything has to go." The ice cream crates were all closed and stacked. The old ice box was empty as well, the thawed water poured out into the sand. Each morning Viktor hauled blocks of ice down here from the closest hotel in a hand wagon to keep his ice cream cold. For years the beach vendors had been trying to get the permit for steam generators, but the government kept balking. The noise and the smell was offensive to the tourists, and therefore bad for the economy.

Of course all the hotels had steam generators, but those were underground and didn't bother anyone.

"We are leaving the day after tomorrow. But the booth is closed now. I have to help Ramira packing up the house. You can have the key tonight," Viktor said. "I'll clean up and then I'm out of here."

Jack nodded and asked his friend to take Thor with him and drop him off at Hadis' house so he'd get fed and watered. Viktor, who lived just around the corner from Hadis, agreed readily. "It means I won't have to walk home." Then he grinned. "I heard you got yourself a stray kid?"

"Rumor travels fast, huh?" Jack placed the rolled up blanket in a corner.

"Masala told Ramira. Ramira stopped by for lunch. Who is he? And where is he?"

"He's..." Jack turned in a circle. He was sure Danny had been right behind him when he'd entered the booth. Only now he wasn't.

He wasn't out by the mule either.

"Aw, man, not again," Jack sighed when he couldn't see Danny anywhere around the booth or on the boardwalk. He went around to the front and scanned the beach. Most tourists were packing up their kids and swimming gear. Dinner at the hotels was at 7:30.

He spotted a lone small figure running towards the water.

"That him? I guess he wants to swim." Viktor had appeared next to Jack, wiping his hands on his apron. He smelled like popcorn and sweat.

"Yeah, that's him."

"Can he swim?"

"Not a clue. But I'm not gonna wait here to find out." Jack jogged down the wooden walkway and caught up with Danny close to the surf. He grabbed him in mid-run and hoisted him under one arm. "That's not the way to the shower last time I checked."

Danny wriggled and squirmed. "I can take a bath in the waves!"

"Yeah? Can you even swim?" Jack swung him around so that he was upright again.

Danny bit his lower lip and frowned. Finally he said, "I could swim. Before."

"Before what, exactly?"

"Before I was in the sky."

Jack shook his head. They really had to talk about this sky thing. "All right. First rule," he said, cupping the small chin in his palm to make sure the kid was looking at him and paying attention. "No more wandering off."

Danny heaved a heavy sigh. "I kinda knew you'd say something like that. And it's annoying to be this small 'cause you can just pick me up and carry me where you want me."

"Comes in very handy," Jack said with a smirk. A moment later he handed the boy to Viktor. "Don't let him out of sight. Better yet, don't let him down."

Viktor laughed and kept Danny firmly in his arms while Jack retrieved towel and soap from inside. He was greeted with a tiny pout and a furrowed brow when he returned.

"You should get him some real clothes," Viktor suggested. He tickled Danny's belly and the pout was replaced by hearty giggles

"I kinda thought I'd find his family today."

Viktor poked Danny's belly again. "Do you even have any family, little one?"

"I have Jack," Danny said and squirmed, laughing.

"There you go." Viktor handed him over to Jack who rolled his eyes at his friend. That wasn't very helpful. Not in the long run. He couldn't keep the kid indefinitely. Pursing his lips he asked Viktor, "Say, are you and Ramira still working on a son?"

Viktor was blessed with three lovely daughters and he bemoaned the lack of male children every once in a while. Now, however, he took a hasty step back as if Danny was something contagious. "No, not really. Certainly not right now."

Danny looked from Jack to Viktor and back to Jack.

"Aaand on that note I have to go. It was nice meeting you, Danny. Jack – the key's in the door. Come to the pub tomorrow night for a last round of drinks." He hurried off and Jack was left to deal with the shower issue.

They made it into the shower house without a hitch. The guard, who was supposed to make sure no locals used the showers and that no one stole any of the tourist's belongings while they were in the stalls, was no where in sight and Jack suspected he had already left.

He picked a free stall, put Danny on his feet and stripped down to his boxer briefs.

Danny gave the shower the hairy eyeball, turned around and whisked out.

"Oh, no, you don't." Jack was on his heels, but the brat still managed to make it halfway around the house before he caught him.

"What is it with you? It's just a shower." He carried a squirming Danny back inside and kept a firm hold on him this time.

"I don't like it."

"I figured that much. Why don't you like it?" He made short work of stripping the boy and tossed shirt and shawl aside. "It's just water and soap. It won't hurt you to get clean, you know? You just keep your mouth and eyes closed and you'll be fine."

"Promise?" Danny asked, wrapping his short arms tightly around Jack's neck.

"Yeah. You ready?"

He pressed his lips together and squeezed his eyes shut when Jack turned on the water and stepped under the shower. Danny buried his face into the hollow of Jack's neck as he started to run his hand through the loam encrusted hair and down the small back. "There, that's not too bad, huh?"

No reply was forthcoming, but at least there wasn't any resistance.

After a while Jack turned off the shower and carefully pried the little limpet off his neck. "I need to put you down for a moment to soap you up."

"But... but... I'm all clean now."

"Almost done, yep." He grabbed the soap and squeezed a dollop into his palm, then started to gently rub some into Danny's hair and lathered the rest of him as well.

"There's still clay behind your ears." Jack pulled at Danny's ears away from his head and made a show of checking behind them and then inside them. Then he raised the kid's arms to check under there and finally he poked a soapy finger at the boy's belly button. "There's clay in there. A whole clay pit. And I bet there's some in your nose, too."

"Is noooot!" The plan worked out just fine; Danny was laughing and Jack had high hopes they'd get this over with rather quickly and without too many tears and struggles.

Congratulating himself for his great diversion tactic, he turned the water back on.

A squeal and the sound of running feet was the next thing he heard as the star child dashed out again.

Jack caught him around the corner and lifted him by his armpits. Holding the slippery shrimp at arm's length, he returned to the shower and decided to fight it out.

By the time the soap had come off, Danny was bawling at the top of his lungs and Jack was sure he'd gone deaf in both ears. But he'd somehow managed not to drop the kicking and wriggling little terror during the whole ordeal.

"Youuu prooo-ooo-mised I won't get soap into my eeeyyyeees!"

"I also told you to keep them closed," Jack said.

"It's i-i-icky and buuuuurns and tastes grooooooss!"

"You shoulda kept your moth closed, too." He put him on his feet and wagged a warning finger at him. "It's all over now, no need to run off again."

All that answered him was loud wailing and big fat crocodile tears.

Praying for this day to be over soon, Jack did a quick wash of Danny's shirt and Mania's shawl. Tomorrow he'd find someone to take the kid in. He wasn't prepared for all the ruckus or the tantrums. He didn't need that.

Then, as he looked at the shivering, hiccupping, sniffling bug trying to wrap himself within his own short arms, Jack was hit by the realization how vulnerable this little human was, how small. Someone had dumped him in the middle of nowhere, at night, without clothes or a blanket. Without a note. Some cruel bastard had done that to this child and even though he pretended not to remember anything, he had to know what had happened to him, somehow.

Jack took the towel and gently wrapped it around the boy. He scooped him up and Danny laid his head against his shoulder.

"It's okay, I've got you. It's all right." Jack soothed. "Let's get outta here and find us some dinner. What do you say?"

Danny nodded, still sniffling.

And that's what they did.

**ooo**

The sun had drowned like a ball of fire in the ocean an hour ago. They had watched as it lit up the whole sky in red, orange and violet. Now, in the twilight of dusk, Jack poked the dying fire with a stick, causing flares.

Dinner hadn't exactly been a feast because all Jack had to offer was Viktor's leftover corn cobs, the rest of their bread and a bottle of water. He'd considered catching some fish, but Danny kept yawning and knuckling his eyes and Jack didn't feel like dragging the tired child down to the surf and keeping an eye on him.

They'd been fine with roasted corn cobs, bread and water and Danny was cozy in Jack's lap now, still wearing his towel.

"Jack?" The small voice was sleepy already.

"Mmmh?"

"You done trying to get rid of me now?"

_Ouch._ "I wasn't..."

"Were."

"I just..."

"Don't wanna be with anyone else." Danny said softly. "Wanna be with you."

Oh, wasn't that peachy? Avoiding answering that, Jack absently stroked the clean, wispy hair. "I wish you could tell me where you came from."

Danny murmured, "I'm a small part of the whole me. And the rest of me is still in the sky."

"And how does that work?" He decided to go with the flow and try it Danny's way for a change.

"Oma split us. But I forgot why."

"Who's Oma?"

"Oma is Oma," Danny said, and yawned.

"O-kay. What does that mean, she split you? There are two of you?" Maybe what he meant was that he had a brother somewhere?

"A bigger part of me." Danny raised his arm and pointed at the stars. Then his hand fell down and he rubbed his nose against Jack's t-shirt, closed his eyes and was out like a light.

Shaking his head, Jack stood with the boy in his arms, and kicked sand over the smoldering wood.

It was hot and stifling in the booth when they returned. Jack placed the towel wrapped bundle on the floor, where it curled up like a ball without waking, and got the rolled up blanket with the merchandise still wrapped within. He unrolled it, stored all the items away in his bags, and went to spread the blanket out between the dunes where they'd be sheltered from wind and the occasional gang of vacationers partying in the middle of the night. At least there was no big event like fireworks or live music tonight.

It was just them out here now with the waves rolling in and some crickets chirping in the beach grass.

Jack was tired and grateful the kid didn't stir when he carried him out and put him down again. He went and got the other blanket he kept at the booth permanently and stretched out next to Danny, covering them both up.

God, he was beat. And he hadn't even worked much today. Just watching the kid had tired him out and he really needed to sleep... really needed to...

...Danny was dashing down some bleak corridor with Jack chasing after him, yelling at him to come back. But he kept running and Jack started to panic because Danny carried his gun, holding it in both hands, aiming at nothing in particular. And Jack couldn't remember if it was loaded or not as followed, heart hammering in his throat. Danny was waving the gun, laughing at Jack. Jack couldn't get any closer to him no matter how fast he was running and then Danny turned around and put the gun to his own head and... he started to change before Jack's eyes. He was morpheng into a man. A man with Danny's eyes. Blue, so blue, and deep. Dark with sorrow or fear or maybe anger. "Don't touch me!" the man yelled. And another voice, a female voice, warned, "He may still be radioactive."...

...Jack bolted upright with a strangled "No!"

Still in the clutches of the dream he was pulled into a vortex of cold spluttering water and there were klaxons going off somewhere.

The cries of a child catapulted him fully back into reality and he reached out, blindly in the dark, and wrapped the small body into his arms. "Shhh, I'm here, I'm here."

"I can't find him, I can't find him," Danny cried, burrowing deeper into Jack's arms.

"Who? Who can't you find?"

"Daniel. I can't find Daniel."

**ooo**

He was drifting. Aimlessly, without orientation, amid the stars in the darkness of space. He had finally cut the ties to the lower planes, had left behind the part of him that – he could see it now – still craved to be human. He hadn't realized there was such a part left in him until it was gone.

He had missed being on the lower plane. Had longed for simple things like coffee, touches, food, talking - and feeling the sun on his skin. He had missed _having_ a skin. A body. He'd thought what he missed were his friends and that the strong need to help them had been the only reason he'd wanted to descend.

But it had been more than that. Apparently he hadn't been ready to leave behind Doctor Daniel Jackson after all. Or rather the physical aspect of his being.

Now Daniel was truly free of all that. Oma had made sure of it. He supposed he should thank her one day.

Only he didn't feel grateful at all. He felt... He was... His thoughts became fragmentary, confusing, for a moment. Was he angry? Because she split him? He didn't know. He couldn't focus on anything for long anymore. The colors of the universe seemed dull and foggy. He didn't know what to do or where to go. He had no destination. Oma was gone. He wanted to find her...

_'Daniel!'_

...but he was so weak, so exhausted. He needed to rest. Needed to find his balance. After the splitting he'd been drifting like this for a while. He'd hurt. How he could hurt without being physical, he didn't know. But the agony had been almost unbearable at first. The feeling of being pulled apart. The pain had stopped, though, and he'd been able to pull himself together to watch things unfold on the planet for a while.

_'Daniel!'_

He could hear his human part, the tiny bit Oma had split from him. Could hear that part calling for him, trying to find him.

But Oma had been right, hadn't she? This small part of him down there with Jack – he didn't make a difference. Jack wasn't listening. As usual. Not much of a surprise there. He'd never listened to Daniel readily, always tried to shrug him off like he'd been some inconvenient appendix Jack was stuck with.

Daniel had watched them, the man and the boy, had seen the way Jack had tried to get rid of little him all day. Yet, the child clung to Jack like he belonged at his side. And Jack had finally tolerated his company. For now. It had been hurtful to watch so Daniel had left them and started drifting again.

_'Daniel!'_

He turned away from that voice. Drifting was better. Easier. He could just let himself float in space forever, leave everything behind. He didn't need to worry. When all was said and done Jack would take care of the child one way or another because it was what he did. He'd make sure 'Danny' had someone to look after him. Because it was the right thing to do and Jack usually came around to doing the right thing in the end whether he liked it or not. Whenever it had been Daniel who'd pushed Jack into doing the right thing, Jack had hated every step of it.

_'Daniel...Daniel...aniel...niel...iel...'_

The voice was farther away now, distant and low. Merely an echo.

Jack didn't listen. Sam was grooming rose bushes. Teal'c...

He couldn't help Teal'c.

He was just as helpless as before. Maybe even more so. Because now he couldn't even bring up the energy to try. He'd lost something. Oma had taken it away from him. He was just a small meaningless spot in a universe so vast. A glowing dot.

And let's face it, friends and members of the glowy club... even if Jack and Sam found their memories, there was no way for them to find Teal'c. The child was useless, it could only give them images of memories. It didn't know where Teal'c was. It had forgotten too much. And even, against all odds, if they found the monastery, Teal'c wouldn't want to leave. Wouldn't recognize them.

Teal'c was too far gone in his brainwashed state of Sinner belief.

Lost cause.

Daniel felt his focus slip again. Oma... he should try to find Oma. He was sure she had lots more to teach about being ascended. Maybe she'd finally reveal to him the meaning of candlelight, fire and meals cooked a long time ago.

Or maybe he'd just drift some more until he wasn't so tired anymore. He felt like an empty hull, void of any life. And Jack's voice from the past accompanied him as he moved deeper into space.

_Though a candle burns in my house... there's nobody home. _


End file.
